Algae progression in a tank

yakfishin · 03/02/2007, 01:15 PM

How long does it typically take for a new tank to go through the different algae stages? I started my tank exactly 3 months ago and the diatoms came and went, and then I had hair algae that has also almost completely disappeared. Over the last week or two I have had a cynao outbreak in a couple of spots on my live rock. I have read that it will typically grow in dead zones that need more water flow, but mine seems to grow in the spots where I have some of my highest flow. I don't see any growing on the sandbed or in other places shielded by my live rock where flow would seem to be at the lowest. Is this just something caused by my tank still being fairly new? I do have some nitrates at the lowest possible detectable level, and the same with phosphate. I have a moray eel, so I imagine some low levels of nutrients will probably always be detectable due to his eating habits.

murfman · 03/02/2007, 01:57 PM

yak, you can have algae outbreaks years after the tank has cycled. There are some good algae ID charts out there, take a look at them. I don't know if that is cynao or not but I have had stuff that looks like it in higher flow areas too.

sir_dudeguy · 03/02/2007, 02:24 PM

and are you sure its cyano? Your tank is still perfectly within the normal timezone that lots of tanks still get algae phases.

But is it slimy or does it look like its hard and doesnt come off very easily? Cyano (red slime) normally comes off quite easy. For me, usually just pointing a powerhead at it blows it off.

If it is hard tho, i would say it could be just coraline alga, which comes in many different colors (i've got one color that is the exact same as cyano)

hth

yakfishin · 03/02/2007, 04:29 PM

Hey guys, it believe from all descriptions I have ever read that it is cyano. I would describe it best by saying it is like grape jelly only with a reddish tint. It is very soft, so soft that I can only blow or remove it from the live rock, but can't keep it in one piece to remove from the tank alltogether, if just disintegrates on contact. It just seemed strange to me that it is growing right where I believe I have a decent amount of flow in the aquarium. Everything I have read say's it will usually grow where flow is at it's lowest.

sir_dudeguy · 03/02/2007, 10:21 PM

ya it sounds like cyano for sure to me. Sometimes it just grows in weird spots. Give it a bit of time and it may go away.

03/02/2007, 01:15 PM	#1
yakfishin Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 696	Algae progression in a tank How long does it typically take for a new tank to go through the different algae stages? I started my tank exactly 3 months ago and the diatoms came and went, and then I had hair algae that has also almost completely disappeared. Over the last week or two I have had a cynao outbreak in a couple of spots on my live rock. I have read that it will typically grow in dead zones that need more water flow, but mine seems to grow in the spots where I have some of my highest flow. I don't see any growing on the sandbed or in other places shielded by my live rock where flow would seem to be at the lowest. Is this just something caused by my tank still being fairly new? I do have some nitrates at the lowest possible detectable level, and the same with phosphate. I have a moray eel, so I imagine some low levels of nutrients will probably always be detectable due to his eating habits.

03/02/2007, 02:24 PM	#3
sir_dudeguy Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 10,841	and are you sure its cyano? Your tank is still perfectly within the normal timezone that lots of tanks still get algae phases. But is it slimy or does it look like its hard and doesnt come off very easily? Cyano (red slime) normally comes off quite easy. For me, usually just pointing a powerhead at it blows it off. If it is hard tho, i would say it could be just coraline alga, which comes in many different colors (i've got one color that is the exact same as cyano) hth __________________ TAKE...LUCK!!!

03/02/2007, 10:21 PM	#5
sir_dudeguy Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 10,841	ya it sounds like cyano for sure to me. Sometimes it just grows in weird spots. Give it a bit of time and it may go away. __________________ TAKE...LUCK!!!

03/02/2007, 01:57 PM	#2
murfman Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Colorado Springs Posts: 4,670	yak, you can have algae outbreaks years after the tank has cycled. There are some good algae ID charts out there, take a look at them. I don't know if that is cynao or not but I have had stuff that looks like it in higher flow areas too.

03/02/2007, 04:29 PM	#4
yakfishin Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 696	Hey guys, it believe from all descriptions I have ever read that it is cyano. I would describe it best by saying it is like grape jelly only with a reddish tint. It is very soft, so soft that I can only blow or remove it from the live rock, but can't keep it in one piece to remove from the tank alltogether, if just disintegrates on contact. It just seemed strange to me that it is growing right where I believe I have a decent amount of flow in the aquarium. Everything I have read say's it will usually grow where flow is at it's lowest.